Letter: Our society could do more to hold those responsible for terrorism to account
A letter from Trevor Ringland:
Years ago, a discussion took place about what to do with the Maze Prison. Republicans wanted to use it as a shrine to their ‘cause’ and the hunger strikers in particular.
I was approached by a former loyalist prisoner, who said that he and some other former inmates were discussing the issue and asked if I would talk with them about it.
I said I would, but asked why they wanted to remind the people of Northern Ireland about what they had done to them. His expression suggested he appreciated the point, and I never heard further from him.
As we struggle to deal with ‘legacy’, one of the greatest problems is republicanism’s insatiable need to gain respect for what it did to its supporters and the rest of our society. This campaign compounds the hurt caused by its actions.
Unfortunately, some loyalists now want to replicate similar arguments. These false narratives should be challenged.
That brings me to Gerry Adams.
We forget that, while it was initially badly implemented, internment was an attempt by our democracy to stop the increasing violence of the Troubles.
It was eventually judged to be unacceptable, so the internees were released. Ironically, the case brought by Gerry Adams shows that the State often interned the right people.
If more former internees apply for compensation, based on technical issues identified by the Supreme Court, many are also likely to have been clearly involved in paramilitarism. Any such compensation could be redirected to their victims.
In addition, there should be a focus on each of them that could result in new information that would lead to criminal prosecutions or civil cases for damages.
We should also look again at using information about the supergrass trials of the 1980s and the ‘on the runs’ who claimed letters of comfort later. Then there were instances where there was not enough evidence to merit a criminal conviction, but a civil case could have been successful.
Our society could do more to hold those responsible for terrorism to account. We never got our version of the Nuremberg Trials, where people who promoted hate-filled ideologies could have been held to account.
The government has plenty of options to avoid paying compensation to former paramilitaries. It should also look at some of these further ideas that would place the blame for violence in Northern Ireland back where it belongs.
Peace came to Northern Ireland because there was always a middle ground that challenged the extremes and firmly refused to go where they were trying to take them.
Reconciliation and a peaceful future will be built on the foundation of that narrative as well.
Trevor Ringland, lawyer and reconciliation campaigner